Automatic feed mechanism for punch presses and the like



July 12, 1932.

AUTOMATIC FEED MECHANISM FOR PUNCH PRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed April 11, 1929 3 Sheets-She et 1 O l [I'll- J. WITTEK 1,867,343 I AUTOMATIC FEED MECHANISM FOR PUNCH PRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed April 11, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 12, 1932. wlTTEK 1,867,343

AUTOMATIC FEED MECHANISM FOR PUNCH PRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed April 11. 1929 3 sheefi's sheet 3 Patented July 12, 1932 JOSEPH WIITEK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AUTOMATIC FEED MECHANISM FOR PUNCH PRESSES AND THE LIKE Application filed April 11,

This invention relates to automatic feeds for power presses, such as punch presses, and the like, and has among its objects to provide a new and useful automatic feed mechanism combined with an auxiliary feed and straightener which is adapted to feed heavy as well as light material or stock to machines such as a shear, punch press or die mechanism.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such automatic feed with adjustable instrumentalities for selectively controlling the length at which the material is fed to the machine with which it is associated.

Another object of my invention resides in the provision of an adjustable guide and tensioning device.

It is also an object of the invention to provide novel features of construction and arrangement of the parts and members of a device of this character tending to enhance the efliciency thereof.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel combination and construction of the parts and members shown in preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, described inthe following specifications and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the illustrations Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a power or punich press equipped with the automatic Fig.2 is an end view of the feed mechanism showin the adjustable guides and tensiomng device.

nism showing the auxiliary feed and straightening rolls. Fig. 4 is a cross section taken of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan viewof the feed mechanism.

on line 4-4 Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section taken on" 1929. Serial No. 354,216.

One end of the crank shaft 12 is adapted to receive a removably mounted sprocket 13.

' A reciprocating punch or die holder 14 is provided which is adapted for operation by suitable mechanism (not shown) which is provided in standard or well known punch or power presses.

The holder 14 is arranged for illustration, to retain a die or shear or other devices for operating on the material fed to same.

A die shoe 15 is partly indicated in Fig. 3 which in this case also shows a channeled guide 16 which is adapted to guide the strip' or band of material 17 to the press for operation thereon. I

The automatic feed mechanism generally indicated by numeral 20 is supported at one end on the press bed 18 and at the other end on a suitable pedestal 19.

The feed mechanism 20 as shown in the 7 illustrations is a unit which can readily be adapted and attached to various power presses, punches or shears or machines to which it is desired to feed material of predetermined. lengths, and this unit includes a base which is formed of the two longitudinally extending side portions 20 which are interconnected by the cross members 2O and A pair of extensions 20 formed integrally with one of the sides 20 support the shaft 21. A- sprocket wheel 22 is rigidly mounted on shaft 21 and is propelled by the chain drive 23, which is actuated by the sprocket wheel 13. It is obvious that the speed of the drive Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the feed mecha-* shaft 21 may be varied by providing interchangeable sprockets of suitable sizes for the sprockets 13 and 22. A chain tightening pulley 24: is provided for taking up the unnecessary slack in the drive chain 23, and the pulley 24 is rigidly mounted on the shaft 25 which is rotatably carried in the brackets 26. These brackets 26 are adjustably secured drive shaft 21 is arranged .to mesh with the bevel gear 29 which is rigidly mounted on the shaft 31. The shaft 31 is rotatably supported mo rolls 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 are rigidly mounted on respective shafts40, 41, 42, 43, and 44.

From the illustrations, it will be-noted that the upper auxiliary feed and stock straight-' ening rolls 35 and 36, are mounted in staggered relation to the lower companion rolls 37, 38 and 39, or laterally directly above thespaces between the three lower rolls to thus effectively feed and straighten the stock 17 as it is fed between the upper and lower sets of rolls.

The shafts 42, 43 and 44 of the lower rolls 37, 38 and 39 are rotatably mounted in the base side portions 20 and these shafts are extended at one end beyond the base 20* to receive the bevel gears 45.

A shaft 46 is supported in the two extensions 20 which are formed integrally with the base side portion 20*. The bevel'gears 47 are rigidly mounted on shaft 46 and are adapted to mesh the bevel gears 45 to thereby transmit rotary motion to the lower rolls 37 38 and39.

The lower feed roll shaft 31 is also ex-' tended to support a bevel gear 48 which meshes with the bevel gear 49 also rigidly mounted on shaft 46, thus the shaft 46 is driven by the shaft 31;

The shaft 31 is also provided with a gear 50 which meshes with gear 51 rigidly supported on the upper feed roll shaft 34.

The ends of shafts 34, 40 and 41 are mounted for rotation in vertically movable bearings 52, which bearings are mounted in the vertical slots 20 A separate and removable head 20 is mounted on top of the base portions 20 and secured thereto with screws 53. 1

The head 20 is formed with a plurality of integral inverted hollow cups 20 which are located dlrectly over the bearings 52.

Positioned within each cup 20 and confined therein is a coil spring 54, the lower end of which'restson top of the bearing 52 and the upper end of which isin abutment with a washer 55.

A vertically adjustable screw 56 is screwmounted in the top of each cup 20 and is ar-' passages 2O through which the springs 54 extend and which passages 21D" are in register with the interior of the cups 20 andthe slots 20 in fact, the'passage's 20 are a part of the chamber in the cups 20 To prevent any side motion of the upper rolls 35 and 36, I provide a pair of bars 57 which are secured to the sides 20 over the ends of shafts 40 and 41. a I

To retain the stock 17 against longitudinal movement during the operation of the press when the stock is worked upon and when the upper rolls 33, 35 and 36 are at such time raised from contact with the stock 17, as will later be explained, I provide a ledge or shelf 58 which extends between the sides 20 and which may be. cast integrally therewith. A clamp 'bar 59 is resiliently supported upon the shelf 58 by means of the screws 60, which are screws mounted for vertical adjustment in the shelf 58. A coil spring 61 is positioned between the head of the screw 60 and the top of the clamp bar 59;

Thus it is readily seen that the stock 17 which is passed between the clamp bar 59 and the shelf 58 is frictionally held therebetween and that the pressure on the clamp bar 59 may be easily adjusted by rotation of the 1 screws 60.

To further retain the stock 17 against lateral cross movement, I provide a pair of guides 62 which areadjust'able longitudinally on the shelf 58 to fit against the side edges of the stock 17 and which guides 62 are provided with a recess 62 to embrace the edge of the shelf 58. A tightening of the screw 63 will secure the guide 62 to the shelf 58.

As a further means of adjustment for the auxiliary feed and stock straightening rolls 35' and 36, I provide screws 64 which extend upwardly through the bottom of the sides 20 into' abutment with the bottom of thebearings 52. These screws 64 positively limit the lowermost position of the rolls 35 and 36 to suit the thickness of the stock rolled and the 33, 35 and 36 upwardly with their bearings 52 against the pressure of the springs 54, and to this end I provide a pair of oscillatable shafts 65 which are mounted within'the base sides 20*. The shafts 65 are recessed as at 65 directly under the bearings 52 so that the bottom of each bearing 52 rests on the flattened bottom 65 of the recess 65.

The shafts 65 are extended at their ends nearest the press to receive the arms 66 and 66 These arms are rigidly fixed to their respective shafts 65 and each arm extends a little beyond the longitudinal center line of the feed and in such manner that the free end of arm. 66 overlaps and lies directly on top of the free end of arm 66*. It will now be readily seen that if the arm 66 is depressed, the arm 66 must necessarily be also depressed and that during such depression,

55 the arms travel in swinging movement which causes an oscillation of the shafts 65 to thereby simultaneously raise the bearings 52 with their shafts and rolls 33, 35 and 36 from contact with the stock 17.

It may be noted that the bearings 52 and the roll shafts 34, 40 and 41 are raised by the direct engagement of the corners of the bottom of the recesses 65 with the bottoms of the bearings 52 in the oscillating movement of the shafts 65. v

To cause the arrest of the movement of the stock 17 at the proper interval of time and to retain the rolls 33, 35 and 36 in raised position for such interval of arrest, 1 provide 20 an adjustable abutment screw 67 which in this case is screw-mounted within the extension 68 of the die, punch, or shear holder 14 and which is so positioned that its lower end will come in direct abutment with the top of the arm 66 to thereby depress the arms 66 and 66 as the reciprocating plunger of the press moves downwardly. The abutment screw 67 being so adjusted that the arms 66 and 66 will be depressed to cause the rolls 33, 35 and 36 to be in raised position with the stock 17 arrested in its movement just before the die, punch or shear engage the stock or material 17 for operation thereon.

From the attached drawingsand above description, it will be observed, that the shaft 21 receives its constant rotary motion from the press crank shaft 12 through the chain drive 23 and sprockets 13 and 22, and that the lower feed roll shaft 31 is driven by means of the bevel gears 28 and 29. The gears 50 and 51 cause a positive rotation of the feed rolls 32 and 33.

The lower auxiliary feed material straightening rolls 37, 38 and 39 are positively driven from the shaft 31 by means of the bevel gears 48 and 49, the bevel gear 49 being rigidly mounted on shaft 46 and the bevel gears 47 on shaft 46 being in mesh with the bevel gears 45 on the lower feed roll shafts 31, 42, 43 and 44.

1 claim:

1. In an, automatic unit feed, adapted to feed a strip of material to a power driven machine, the combination of a base, a pair of main feed rolls disposed one directly above the other, a pair of auxiliary feed rolls and an auxiliary feed roll mounted above said pair of auxiliary feed rolls midway the vertical center line of'said pair of auxiliary feed rolls, shafts for said rolls, the shafts for the lower main feed roll and said auxiliary pair of feed rolls being rotatably supported in said base, vertically movable bearings mounted on said base for the shafts of the upper one of said main feed rolls and the upper auxiliary feed roll, resilient means exerting downward pressure on said bearings, means for variably adjusting the preS- sure of said resilient means, means comprising a pair of sprockets and an interconnecting chain drive for positively rotating the lower one of said main feed rolls with said pair of'lower auxiliary feed rolls, means for operatively interconnecting the upper main feed roll with the lower main feed roll a pair of oscillatively mounted pins extending under said bearings and transversely to the longitudinal axis of the upper main and auxiliary feed roll shafts, said pins having seats cut therein for saidbearings, an arm fixed to one end of each of said shafts, and means for intermittently oscillating said arms and pins to cause the corners of said seats to raise said bearings and thereby simultaneously raise said upper main and auxiliary feed'rolls to arrest the movement of the strip of material.

2. An automatic feed as embodied in claim 1, and including frictional means for positively retaining said strip of material against shifting longitudinal movement during the intermittent release thereof by the main and auxiliary feed rolls.

3. An automatic feed as embodied in claim 1, and including frictional means f tively retaining said strip of materia longitudinal shifting movement ring the intermittent release thereof by the main and auxiliary feed rolls, and adjustable resilient means for exerting pressure on said frictional means, the extent of said pressure being comparatively much less than the pressure of said resilient means exertlng pressure on said bearings.

4. An automatic feed as embodied in claim 1, and including frictional means for positively retaining said strip of material against shifting longitudinal movement during the intermittent release thereof by the main and auxiliary feed rolls, and means for guiding the strip of material to said rolls and rela' tively to the longitudinal center-line of said rolls.

In witness whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH VVIITEK. 

